US Backs $50 Billion Bond for Ukraine Using Frozen Russia Assets

The US proposed to its Group of Seven allies that they create a special purpose vehicle to issue at least $50 billion of bonds backed by the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets and use the proceeds to support Ukraine, according to people familiar with the plan.

The proposal would pool the $280 billion of Russian central bank assets that have been immobilized by G-7 countries and the European Union in the SPV, the profits of which would back the so-called freedom bonds, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

More than two-thirds of Russia’s frozen assets are blocked in the EU, where they generate about $3.6 billion of net profits a year. Proceeds from the prospective bond offering would nearly equal the $60 billion of US aid that is still stuck in Congress.

Western allies are struggling to get funding to Kyiv at a critical moment in the war, as Ukrainian troops face artillery shortages and as Russia has made advances in the east. EU leaders meeting in Brussels Thursday will discuss how to use profits from the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.